Mid Atlantic Brewing News August/September 2016 : Page 1

August/September 2016 Volume 18 • Number 4 By Charles Pekow ILLUSTRATION BY HANS GRANHEIM By Greg Kitsock ruit beers, widely mocked as training-wheel brews during the 1990s, are staging a comeback. Not just summer refreshers like wheat beers and golden ales. Brewers are taking their most assertively hopped styles—pale ales and IPAs— and infusing them with citrus and tropical fruit to complement the aromatic oils in the hops. Some are quite complex, a fruit cocktail in a bottle. TropiCannon , this year’s spring seasonal from Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, incorporated blood orange, mango, grapefruit and lemon, both puree and zest. (It should return next spring, says brewery founder Hugh Sisson.) Stone Brewing’s Enjoy By 05.30.16 Tangerine IPA blended pureed tangerine with 12 hop varieties, adding nuances of grapefruit, apricot, passionfruit and lemon-lime. Five of the top 15 new craft brands in supermarkets are fruit IPAs, reports the data-crunching firm IRI. They include Samuel Adams Rebel Grapefruit and New Belgium’s Citradelic Tangerine IPA . But Ballast Point PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM DULYE See Fruit p. 3 State by State News INSIDE Strength Matters .......................... 7 Event Calendar .............................. 7 Homebrew News .........................10 Maps ...................................... 14-17 Book Review................................31 W. Virginia ........9 Virginia ...........12 C. Penn ............18 Philadelphia ...20 E. Penn ............22 Maryland ........24 Baltimore ........25 D.C. ..................27 New Jersey .....28 Delaware ........30 parmigiana for Friday’s dinner. How do you find exactly the right beer to go with your meatless meal? Generally, go on the light side (as in lighter in color)—that’s the advice we got from several experts. For instance, Bill Madden, owner of Mad Fox Brewing in Falls Church, Va. and Washington, DC, suggests that something briny, like stuffed grape leaves or kale salad, would pair well with a pilsner to wash it down. He adds, “A good IPA will go with mushrooms (and corn), saison with eggplant.” Saison also works with pizza. aybe you’re a strict vegan—no animal pr oducts ever. Or maybe you’ve just decided to cook eggpla nt “Hops in IPA tend to wash away food,” Madden explains. “Pale ales can cleanse your palate. Sours will not cleanse the palate like IPA and pale ale unless they are too heavy.” That palate-cleansing ability is especially important if you’re consuming foods like hot peppers and raw onions that can overwhelm your taste buds. Madden suggests trying Belgian-style beer. “It brings out different flavors that you would not get with American beer.” Steamed vegetables call for something light and pure, notes Adam Dulye, executive When to Ratchet Up the Beer See Vegetarian p. 4